To Protect the Shadows
by slytherinsnow
Summary: After the sports festival, Shinso Hitoshi receives a call from someone he never expected: Eraserhead. Why did the Class 1-A teacher request to see an unseen General Studies student? [UPDATED]
1. Day 0 of 10

Hello everyone! I'm pleased to announce that I FINALLY have time to revive this dead fanfiction. First, I'm extremely sorry for the neglect and thank you so much for continuing to support me. The story is 100% complete, including the editing of the current chapters. I have already updated the current 3 chapters and I'll release one chapter each day. Thank you so much and I hope you enjoy!

...

Shinso took each step with caution, as he approached the rather large door in which he has been called towards. He clenched his fists and took a deep breath. Shinso usually kept his cool in anxious circumstances, but this was different. This situation was bigger than anything he has ever encountered. He looked briefly at the sign underneath the room number. It read, "Aizawa Shota, Eraserhead" which caused Shinso's heart to jump with worry. Why did the Class 1-A teacher requested him earlier today? He shivered at the thought that he did something wrong, something villainous, but he took another needed breath and reminded himself that he is going to be a hero. Real heroes aren't called by teachers for evil doings.

He approached the door and knocked confidently. There was shuffling inside, a small curse, and as the door creaked open, Shinso hesitated. Eraserhead was standing there, looking slightly down at him, with a black cat in his arms. He had pulled his hair back in a bun and was wearing black clothes that were baggier than usual.

"Ah, you. Come in."

His tone was neither warm nor cold. He turned around swiftly and walked into his office.

Shinso ran over many conversations in his head before saying, "Any reason why you called me in rather late? Isn't being here without the other pro heroes dangerous, considering the recent attack? That's rather irresponsible."

Eraserhead gave a stern look right as he was sitting down in his chair, "I'm not too injured to protect myself." His freshly healed scars stood out on his face, devoid of any sort of emotion.

"Being in school after hours just seems suspicious."

The pro-hero gave a smirk that showed he didn't care and ushered Shinso to sit. He laid The Cat on the desk, which rolled over on her back to request a belly rub.

"I'm not rubbing your belly again after you puked in my sleeping bag,"

The Cat whined, which prompted Shinso to lift his hand to pet, but he quickly closed his fist and laid it on the table. It was so damn adorable.

"Go ahead. The Cat needs some attention, but don't blame me if your uniform is ruined." Shinso immediately began to scratch her belly with no regrets, "That's not why I called you here. I called because of your performance at the sports festival."

Shinso felt a cold presence run over him and all the memories of the festival returned. Eraserhead stared straight through him. He wasn't activating his quirk, but his presence was strong, unmoving, and terrifying. He felt controlled, ironically.

Shinso broke eye contact, "It's about that or the situation before, I had to win. I don't care what the monkey thinks. If it's about Midoriya, he was just so lucky. I didn't do anything-"

"Stop it." His abrupt words caused Shinso to look up at him again, "You didn't kill or seriously maim anyone, so you aren't in trouble, but continue to disrespect my students like that and you will. On Midoriya, I don't think you should be jealous of him. Midoriya is always breaking himself and the rules, but the point is not there. The point is you have a talent and the system doesn't recognize that."

Shinso nodded in agreement, "I knew I wasn't going to be in the hero program. I still want to be a hero. However…" He trailed off.

"I get it. It's frustrating."

"You get it?"

Eraserhead frowned, "My quirk is not too unlike yours, Shinso Hitoshi. We both have the ability to pick off villains in a rather unique and invasive way. I'm not so sure why you believe that I wouldn't understand."

"Yes, you're right, that was a stupid question." Shinso adjusted his weight in the chair. This conversation was rather fast and straightforward. Not that it made him uncomfortable, but it rather did the opposite. So many times people would avoid the question, both figuratively and literally. "So what does it have to do with this meeting?"

"To be blunt, I think you deserve to be in my class."

Shinso gasped for a moment, "Really?"

Eraserhead responded, "Of course. We need someone like you to be in the top. Do you think I want all heroes to be overpowered like All Might?"

"'Every All Might needs someone to protect his shadow.'" Shinso quoted.

"Exactly" then Eraserhead realized what was said, and emotionlessly remarked, "I said that."

Shinso stopped scratching The Cat and stared back in awkwardness. He was getting a little pink in the cheeks.

Shinso quickly thought up of an excuse, "I-uh… I-I just really like the quote. I didn't realize it was from you."

"It was exactly 9 years and 3 months ago. You weren't that old." He squinted, "In fact, you would be old enough to have already discovered your quirk and become interested in heroes."

 _How did he know he said that so long ago? I mean, I remember it, but I was a kid! I'm not some fanboy. It's not like I worshipped him or anything. I just looked up to him! This is so awkward. Think of something smart, think of something smart, think of something smart._

"If I didn't know what heroes did or say, how can I become one?"

Eraserhead shrugged, "That is true," _That was close,_ "Back to the point, the problem is you lack the experience of my class, and you lack the physical capabilities to be a hero. The only reason I'm here now is not that of my quirk, but my ability to fight and strategize. You have the strategizing part, but you are not able to fight."

"It's not necessary if my quirk would work," Shinso argued, furrowing his brow, "Not even you can fix that." It was a rather internal habit of his to blame everything on his quirk.

Aizawa knew this would happen, among many other parts of the conversation. He stood up and stared at the boy with wild purple hair.

"If I had to say, your attitude and disrespect is the most insufferable weakness you have. If I were to fight you right now, erasing your quirk, can you fight me and win without it, aspiring hero?" He said with concise intonation. His eyes began to water, but he resisted the urge to blink.

Shinso visibly gulped. He looked pale and his dark circles seemed darker than normal. He shook his head silently. Aizawa returned to his seat where he opened his desk drawer and pulled out a notepad that showed cat chew marks on the edges. He cursed himself as he forgot to pull out the eyedrops in the desk, and awkwardly proceeded to take them out and rehydrate his eyes. The damage done to them at the USJ really affected them.

He referenced his notes once he was done, "My little sh- _brats_ are all going to their internships tomorrow, something that general studies does not do. During the week, while they are gone, I can help train you to become a much stronger hero. I already outlined what we need to do here." He laid the pad down before looking up again at the boy.

He leaned forward, "But don't think I'm doing this out of pity or fondness of you. You're a condescending ass. I would not give you this special treatment if you were currently in my class. You show potential and general studies is not helping you. You're going to have to work your ass off if you want to be noticed, even more than Class 1-A."

Shinso deflected the criticism and looked as if he was already becoming comfortable with the cold, straightforward Aizawa, "So are you giving me a chance or are you using me as a pawn as some sort of agenda?"

Aizawa gave his signature smile, "Nice observation. Well, originally the latter, but you're intelligent enough that I would allow this to be a chance at success, but don't give yourself that much credit. Also, don't pull your quirk on me outside of training or this deal is over."

"I didn't use my quirk. You're not brainwashed right now if you haven't already noticed."

"And I didn't use mine either. Looks like we have already gained each other's trust."

The Cat jumped on Aizawa's lap and curled up to a nap right before the two nodded in agreement.


	2. Day 1 of 10

Shinso ran as fast as humanly possible. His lungs were hurting, aching for more air, but he ignored its cries as he pushed off the pavement with more force. It should have been an easy break for him since the hero classes have internships (the general studies don't have internships and receive a break from studies this week). But no, instead, Eraserhead decides to have him wake up extremely early to start training, which was strange considering his night owl appearance.

Of course, Shinso would sleep in, especially since this is an opportunity he always dreamed of having.

He finally passed the UA gate and ran straight towards the gym where Eraserhead had told him to meet. Shinso checked his watch. _6:32 AM. Shit, I'm late!_ He pushed open the doors of the gym and began to speak.

"Eraserhead, sir, I'm so sor-" but nobody was in the gym. It was completely dark. Shinso immediately went on guard, "Who's there?" But nobody answered. He stood around for a few moments before he backed away from the gym. Shinso sat outside the door and faced towards the school, watching the wind run through the trees, wide-eyed and afraid he did something wrong.

It was nearly 30 minutes when he finally saw Eraserhead approach the gym. He sighed relief, but then was confused by Eraserhead's appearance.

Aizawa really disliked 7 AM practices, but he was here nonetheless. His dark circles couldn't have been darker and his hair, messier, and as he approached Shinso, he didn't say a word. This morning, he had just gotten out of bed and walked to UA.

Shinso was confused, "I didn't know they made walking sleeping bags,"  
Eraserhead grunted to the comment and walked passed him. Shinso made a mental note of Eraserhead's morning self and followed him into the gym, where the teacher used his head to bash against the light button a few times before the large arena lit up. Eraserhead continued to stay silent and walked further in. He didn't seem like he had anything to say, either just from his personal self or the fact it was 7 AM. Shinso threw his bag to the side to prepare himself for training as Eraserhead slowed to a stop. The young hero rolled his head side to side and cracked a few bones. He wasn't the most athletic out of the school, but he knew it had to be something to overcome if he wanted to be a hero.

An awkward minute passed by of Shinso stretching and Eraserhead unzipping his bag and slipping out of it. Shinso was shocked to see he wasn't in his usual hero attire. His hair was up in an extremely messy bun and he was wearing a plain, gray long sleeve shirt and black sweats. He didn't even seem like the great hero that Shinso grew up admiring. He was Aizawa Shota, and his exhaustion was showing on his face.

"When did you get here?"

Shinso cringed and looked down in shame, "I was late… I got here at 6:32."

Eraserhead sighed, "You thought it was 6, but I said 7."

Shinso gulped, and Eraser responded, "The good news is that it wasn't the other way around."

Shinso nodded and remembered the practice times. He asked Eraserhead, "So, what is the plan?"

Eraserhead looked at Shinso, glanced to the side, raised his hand, and pointed at the doors behind them, where the door opened to reveal a small creature.

"Hello! It's your cute principal!" Nezu bounced with a cheer into the gym.

"Mr. Principal?" questioned Shinso, "You're a part of this?"

Nezu explained, "We've talked about this for a while now. I agreed to be here as a spectator for your training. My assessment of quirks, both in observation and mathematically, is extremely accurate, and it could help us find an edge for you."

"Okay? But couldn't Eraserhead do that?"

"Why, isn't it best to have multiple observers? Need no fear! I'm just going to watch here. Go ahead."

Shinso stared at the rather adorable mouse-bear, "Go ahead what?"

Nezu smiled sadistically, "Take control of Eraserhead. We are going to see what you can do."

"Er… okay. So, Eraserhead…" Shinso didn't even know what to ask,

With a creepy smile, Eraserhead spoke to him, "Oh, yeah, if you aren't able to do this, then I'll have to show you the definition of hell."

Shinso cringed at the thought. Of course, he'd create a terrifying challenge for him.

He softly asked, "How are… you doing?" _I'm so dead._

"1.527 with a 1% tolerance out of 10,"

And just like that, Shinso activated his quirk, "Now… turn around." Except Eraserhead didn't turn. His eyes glowed a flashing red, his stray hair was floating upwards, and Shinso knew that his own quirk was non-existent. His stomach dropped. _I'll have to show you the definition of hell._

He gasped with fear and awe, "You did that so quickly."

Nezu looked over to Aizawa and informed him, "Shinso has about a second delay in activating his quirk, in which yours is how he clenched his fists and teeth, there's a physical strain, as if he hardly ever used his quirk. Obviously, having to have a response to a question is a disadvantage as well, plus if the victim experiences a shock of some sorts, then it's over. There is a lot of work to be done"

Aizawa nodded, without a change of expression. His eyes and hair returned to normal.

Shinso stared at the two in disbelief. His quirk has been stomped down even more. How is he going to be able to train it? Plus, Eraserhead was going to kill him!

Eraserhead remarked, "By the way, you fell for my logical ruse. You're going to experience hell either way,"

Nezu looked over to Shinso and saw the look on his face, "Don't be discouraged! You have a lot of potential. Why even Aizawa has had to overcome difficulties!"

Eraserhead rolled his eyes at the comment.

Nezu whispered, "You should've seen h-"

"We are focused on developing Shinso's quirk, not talking about my quirk," Eraserhead gave a nasty, intense look at Nezu

Shinso didn't react but kept the small detail in his memory. Seeing how Eraserhead was keen on working him to death, it was going to be a long day.

…

When Eraserhead's phone alarm went off at 12 o'clock ( _"Oh, forgot to turn that off,")_ , Shinso fell on the ground in exhaustion. He had never spent so long working on his quirk.

"Fantastic job! You did great, young one! I'll go write a report on your weakness and strengths and you can read it later for your development!" Nezu chirped. He jumped towards the exit and before leaving, exclaimed, "Ciao!"

Shinso didn't move. He was mentally and physically exhausted. He heard a loud thump in front of him. When Shinso opened his eyes, he saw that Eraserhead had sat on the ground too, facing him. He looked exhausted as well, but it easily just could've been his expression. It seemed like he was tired all the time. It was just his natural form.

Eraserhead, deadpan, said, "You can't get up, can you?"

Shinso grunted and spoke, "I'm just tired that's all… and hungry. I'm not used to working my quirk like this."

"Do you not use your quirk in your class?"

Shinso grunted, "Not as much as the hero class."

Eraserhead's eye twitched, "That's a pain. We'll have to change that." He smiled, an action quite odd for his normal dead-pan expression, "We'll break for lunch and work on your physical abilities afterward."

Just as he started to pull himself off the ground, Shinso exclaimed, "Wait,"

Aizawa looked at the young man, wondering what was on his mind. He had really pushed himself today. His face was red from exhaustion and chest was rising and falling quickly. Perhaps he was too exhausted to get up. Aizawa, still crouching, gave Shinso a hand.

Shinso didn't move. He responded with, "Do you ever just ha- _dislike_ people with quirks that are more heroic than yours?"

"No,"

"Why?"

"I don't care,"

Shinso grimaced, "I suppose you never had them against you,"

"I didn't say that,"

Shinso looked at him with more interest, "You have had people with great quirks dislike yours?"

Eraserhead frowned at that response, "Why should I worry over other people's quirks? Or how they feel about mine?"

"Because," Shinso pushed himself up, sitting crisscrossed on the ground, "their quirks are better than yours."

Eraserhead sighed and sat as well, staring at Shinso, "'Better' is not really the correct word,"

Shinso looked at him with hurt eyes, "Eraserhead, I can't punch a villain like most heroes, and I certainly am not charismatic or 'heroic' enough. I can't be a hero with my body. I can't even use my quirk without tiring out like this." He looked away for a moment, "And plus, this unseen quirk of mine is so weak in combat,"

"Shinso Hitoshi, there is an important lesson that people with mental-based quirks need to learn."

He looked up, "What is it?"

"Nobody gives a damn. Embrace the gift you were given, even if it's not visible to anyone. Make it your own, because it's visible to you. It can't be evil unless you are."

Shinso frowned, "But those assholes think I'm evil."

"Then stop complaining about other people and just be a hero. You don't have to be flashy like All Might; just use what you were given and make the best out of it. When you've saved the lives of hundreds of people like I have, they won't have the evidence to accuse you. Now," Eraserhead got on his feet, crouching, and gave Shinso his hand again, "you need sustenance,"

Shinso hesitated for a second and reached out and grabbed it. Aizawa lifted him off the ground and onto his two feet.

Shinso stumbled slightly when he was standing. He stared at Eraserhead in confusion. It was unusual for him to say those things. He didn't seem to be the comforting type… even if he said it so coldly.

"Now, go. Be back at 1."

Shinso nodded, turned on his heel, picked up his bag, and ran for the door. As he exited, Aizawa gave him a few seconds before he sighed and rubbed his temple. He thought to himself, _He's so much like I used to be…_

…

It was now 3'oclock. Shinso had just finished his final round around the gym before he finally collapsed in front of Eraserhead. He had been running for nearly 2 hours straight, for what seemed like no reason. _It's good for you,_ said Eraserhead, but it didn't seem like the man liked exercising himself. Shinso could hardly catch his breath and his hair was starting to lose its shape, sticking to his neck and face at various places.

"M'kay. You need to run more. Starting tomorrow, you are not to use any sort of transportation besides your own two feet. Go home, get some rest, and be back here tomorrow at 6."

"Again?"

"Yep."

"Agggggh," mumbled Shinso.

"Also, your principal has probably already sent the analysis of your quirk to your house. You'll find it on your desk for you to read. I expect you to have it memorized by tomorrow."

"I don't know if I'll even be able to sleep at this point,"

Eraserhead fumbled around in his jacket and pulled out a new bottle of eyedrops. He placed them on Shinso's head and proceeded to leave the gym. The eyedrop bottle fell in front of his face and he stared at it.

Shinso grumbled and mumbled to himself, "It's only day one…"

…

When Shinso came home, he immediately showered, grabbed a snack from the kitchen, and laid in his bed. He reached over to his desk where he felt around for the package from UA. He picked it up, opened it, and began to read it over. Shinso's eyes were so dry from being up early that he was forced to use the eyedrops Eraserhead gave him. As expected, they worked well. A few minutes after he returned to reading the report, he heard a knock on his door.

"Hitoshi?" His mother softly spoke.

"You can come in."

She opened the door and walked towards him. Her purple hair reached long down her back. She was rather young and beautiful, in her late twenties. As his mother sat down, she rubbed her son's cheek with comfort.

"You must've had a hard day."

"I'm just tired, mum."

She gave a soft smile, "What is it that you are reading?"

"It's just a report on today. Nothing interesting. I've been using my quirk for hours so I'm pretty exhausted," Shinso mumbled, "I'm not as skilled as I want to be,"

"Using a quirk seems tiring, but I'm proud of you, son. I'll let you sleep," She stood up and walked out the room.

Shinso turned on his side and sighed. The pressure of being the first in his family to gain a quirk was too much for him to handle sometimes.

….

Aizawa was still up late, despite the early day. He has been constantly using eyedrops and drinking coffee for the past few hours, but he had an idea today that had to be completed quickly. Aizawa occasionally glanced up at his computer screen while taking chicken-scratched notes on paper. He gave a slight, rare, genuine smile at the paper, before furrowing his brow in thought.

"Hmm…"


	3. Day 2 of 10

This time, Shinso and Eraserhead both arrived at the gym at 6:45 AM. Shinso was sweaty from jogging there, as the bus wasn't really an option anymore. He was wearing a gray muscle shirt, black shorts, carried a backpack, and he had his hair up in a small ponytail, which resisted the hold and didn't hold completely flat against his head. He rarely wore anything that showed his pasty skin, but he knew he was going to be worked to death. Eraserhead was still gruffly as ever, with the exact same outfit as yesterday; however, it looked a lot fresher.

"So, how was the report?" noted Eraserhead.

Shinso gave a slight frown and pulled the report out of his backpack. He flipped through the pages and showed Eraserhead the contents.

"There was just only one page of actual content, and it really wasn't something you or I didn't know or couldn't guess. The entirety of this report is just… calculations. A bunch of mat." Shhinsou explained, "I mean I read it but there's no way I could memorize it."

Eraserhead gave his signature smile, "You were _supposed_ to memorize that,"

Shinso's heart dropped, "B-but I memorized the essay p-pa- That's impossible!"

"In my line of work, you follow directions exactly to avoid anyone getting hurt, even if it's boring or tedious…. And you already failed that,"

 _The kid memorized the quirk analysis, which was more than I expected. Perhaps he has more than what he thinks,_ thought Eraserhead.

The young hero almost dropped his report. He didn't realize that those calculations were so important.

Aizawa stretched and scratched his ear, "The only reason Nezu was there was because of the calculations. He created a mathematical and scientific way to calculate how your quirk works. What does that mean to me? Pure sh- a waste of time. But I needed it to test you, plus the furball wanted to see what was going on."

 _Nezu saw everything, even when it seemed he's 'left', but you're already beating yourself up, aren't you?_

Shinso cowered slightly in embarrassment, "Oh…" He was biting his lip, "Was he also there because you didn't trust me with my quirk?"

 _Yeah, we're going to have to work on that._

"I wouldn't have called you if I didn't have some level of trust for you,"

Shinso responded, "Well, I guess that is some good news,"

 _No, the REAL good news is that rodent won't be pestering me anymore,_ Aizawa thought to himself.

"What's important is that Nezu knows what's up and I can continue training you without anyone pestering me. He likes to know what happens in his school. I don't blame him, especially with recent attack made by villains."

The two walked into the gym as the conversation ran through Aizawa's head.

 _"Shota, you will never have anyone to pass down your knowledge and techniques to if you keep this up,"_

 _Aizawa didn't respond. He only dignified the comment with a side glance._

 _"You may not believe me, but I'm serious. All the other heroes can give something to those students, but you can't. You are not the type of hero that they are. All your techniques used for your line of work is stuck in you, regardless if you are great at pushing them."_

 _"I'm not really that type of person."_

 _"Shota, that's what you said about teaching and look at where you are. Plus, I'm worried that the world will lose you without someone else to take the spot."_

 _"It's not important right now. I'm not dying or retiring,"_

 _"_ _But one day you will be dead, and someone needs to take the spot. Find someone and cherish them."_

Deep down, Aizawa didn't want to admit that maybe Nezu had a fair point. He almost lost his eyesight after the last villain confrontation at UA, which would have been devastating to the world. Most people's idea of a 'hero' is the All Might fantasy: jumping into action, punching the villains to near death, and saving people while jumping out of an explosion. Not that Aizawa hasn't done that (it wasn't his favorite past time), but Aizawa's true line of work is much more articulate and careful, one that requires planning and thought. He too has saved countless lives, but these lives were stuck in truly evil and underground places which meant seeing some shit, up close and personal. However, the impact was grand but sometimes taken for granted. It didn't matter to him if he got credit or not, even though the underground criminal world feared him more than the public knows of him. What matters is getting the job done.

If he could get Shinso to be his level, then he knew that the world would be much safer.

When the two entered the gym, Eraserhead faced Shinso and smiled again, creepily, "Run 5 laps around the gym and I'll show you some close combat techniques you'll need."

Shinso blinked, nodded, and internally screamed over the fact that he needs to condition his body. He began to run.

When he finished, he showed up in front of Eraserhead, panting and coughing. He fell to the ground and began to breathe heavily. Eraserhead clicked his stopwatch.

"It took you 18 minutes and 34 seconds to run 3 kilometers," Eraserhead looked at his student, "Strange, if we check your records, you're a few minutes faster than usual. You improved, but you shouldn't improve this quickly in a matter of a day." _Something is up._

Shinso didn't know how to respond. Eraserhead looked at him harshly before understanding ran across his face, but he never explained to him what went through his head.

"Get up. I'm going to show you how to punch. It's an important skill, especially if your quirk isn't effective."

Shinso had to use all his strength to push himself off the ground and stand. Eraserhead fumbled for a remote in his pocket and once he pressed a button, an object fell from the ceiling and landed in front of them. It was a punching bag. The pro-hero took a step forward and gave a reverse punch off his right hand. The punching bag flew a few feet before falling to the ground and rising back up again.

"You are to do that until it becomes engrained in you,"

Shinso was in awe, "That's possible even without a quirk? You don't even look that- that-"

"Strong? Athletic? Believe it or not, I have muscles. I just train them well and know how to use them."

"You're not… big or anything."

"You wouldn't look big either if your body was trained for power and not size. I may look like I don't care, but nobody knows the effort I put in," Aizawa sighed. The next part is a hard lesson, "That's what it's like being a hero… or at least the type of hero that I am."

"You don't look like you care at all, honestly,"

"Believe it or not I take care of myself," Eraserhead chuckled to himself, "I actually get sleep."

Shinso stared at him in disbelief, "No way." Eraserhead, the pro-hero that worked at night and that constantly looks sleep deprived, cares about his health? When did he sleep? Granted, Shinso naturally looks like he doesn't sleep either, but he wasn't as bad as Eraserhead.

"Yep, that's my biggest secret," _Is Eraserhead making jokes too?_ "Not the point. Point is that you work hard to get the job done,"

Shinso was reluctant to ask, "But how can you ever keep up with heroes who are more powerful with their quirks?"

 _Dammit, you brat._ Aizawa furrowed his brow and said carefully, "Shinso, stop it with other people having 'better' quirks than you."

"Well, it's true, Midoriya beat me at the-"

"Midoriya threw you over his shoulder to beat you. That match was a quirk-less one when it came down to it. He beat you on equal terms,"

"But he escaped my brainwashing-"

"Why do you not listen when I say 'stop it?'" Eraserhead beamed. His eyes showed frustration, "You are way too quirk-dependent. Quirks aren't the only thing that makes a hero, you know?"

Shinso was stumped, but then deadset in his mind, almost angry, "Eraserhead, my quirk is seen as evil! I can't be a hero if people think I'm evil."

Eraserhead sighed (he was sighing a lot recently) and pulled the remote out of his pocket again. He pressed a button and the gym roared and a wall 3 times as tall as Shinso rose about 10 feet away from him. Shinso looked at the wall with curiosity and confusion.

"Climb," Eraserhead commanded.

"C-climb this?"

Eraserhead nodded and waited until Shinso walked over to the wall and place a hand on it. He looked back at Eraserhead with sad eyes.

"I can't do it. There's no way with my-"

Eraserhead, without saying a word, ran towards the wall and jumped. He grabbed a ledge and began to pull himself up, until he had reached the top. The man turned around and looked down on his student.

"-quirk," Shinso spoke, bewildered, "That was amazing."

"What did I do?"

"What?"

Eraserhead sighed, "I said, what did I do?"

"You climbed the wall," _What was he getting at?_

"What about the way I climbed the wall?"

"You grabbed the ledges and pulled yourself up," explained Shinso, "You didn't even have to use a quir- oh." Shinso's eyes widened and he hesitated for a few seconds before he slowly spoke, "You climbed over a wall you placed in front of me and we are at the same disadvantage with our quirk. You could do it and I couldn't," Shinso felt the weight of his stupidity and closemindedness sink in his chest.

"Shinso Hitoshi, UA is known for putting walls in front of students for them to climb over, but our walls will never be as tall as the wall that you have created for yourself."

Shinso immediately shut up at the comment. _Our walls will never be as tall as the wall that you have created for yourself._

That single sentence ran through his head.

 _Our walls will never be as tall as the wall that you have created for yourself._ At this point, Shinso had already regained his breath. He furrowed his brow in thought. _Our walls will never be as tall as the wall that you have created for yourself._

"If I could climb over my wall, then there is no other wall that I can't climb,"

Aizawa nodded and sat down, still on top of the wall, "At the end of the day, if you can't be a hero without your quirk, you aren't a hero with your quirk."

Shinso looked at Aizawa with a new expression, "Eraserhead…"

Aizawa neutralized his face and waited for an answer, one that wasn't a complaint or an excuse, but rather realization of what he needed to do.

"My quirk is fine all along. It's everything else that is weak."

Aizawa sighed relief that he finally got through that stubborn skull. _He at least got it years before I did._ He jumped down from the wall and looked at his student. His eyes seemed to light up a bit, and his mouth slightly turned up.

"You ran a 6 minute kilometer out of sheer determination to be a great hero. You're not at peek physical condition, but I had a feeling a big part of that was your mindset." His face returned to normal, "Once you get it in there that what makes a hero is his actions and not his quirk, you'll surprise yourself at what you can do."

Shinso took the information in, "So I'm stronger than I think…"

"You still got a long way to go, but the right mindset will help a lot," commented Eraserhead, "Now, go to the punching bag, and do 1000 on each arm… and think to yourself how to fight someone without quirks involved."

Shinso nodded and proceeded to train on the punching bag. His emotions, while not exactly visible to an outsider, were under control. He had already regained his composure, and nothing seemed physically different with the boy, but there was already a great change within him.

 _Once he gets into the habit of training and the habit of a realistic mindset, I don't see him being unable to fight like at the Sports Festival._

Aizawa was just about to leave to allow the student to train when he saw how Shinso was punching and cringed… hard. He ran over, grabbed his hand, and said, "What are you doing?"

"P-punching? Like you said."

 _Of course, he never learned how to punch. No wonder he is such an awkward boy._

"No, no, no. Hold your fist out…. put your thumb here not here… make sure you use the first two knuckles or you're breaking your hand… straighten your wrist…keep it tight…" Eraserhead mumbled as he fixed Shinso's hand. He also proceeded to show him on the bag slowly, "And when you punch, make sure your elbows are in and your fists twist like this. Put your hips into it and don't leave your arms down. Now if I see you do it wrong again, that'll be another lap." He gave his normal creepy smile that motivated Shinso to punch properly again.

"Don't stop," Aizawa spoke, as he left the gym and the sounds of punches that ran through it.

As he closed the door behind him, he gave a long sigh.

"That was quite the commotion," Nezu spoke, sitting on a bench a few feet away from the gym.

Aizawa closed his eyes, "Of course, you were watching the entire time."

"I'm quite surprised. It took you years to get out of that mindset, yet he did it within about two days of training. I didn't expect him to take that step so… quickly," Nezu took a sip of tea, "Granted, objectively speaking, one conversation isn't going to change a decade-long mindset, but it's definitely a huge step for him," Nezu sipped again, "You definitely were a lot more stubborn."

Aizawa nodded, "Indeed, I was."

"Why did you choose this boy to train? It's not like all of Class 1-A have physical or overly powered quirks. Hagakure Toru would be fantastic with her invisibility, or possibly Koda Koji with his animal speech. Even Ojiro Mashirao would be perfect for your style of combat. They all would appreciate the help if you gave them it. It's not like they are becoming the 'All Might'-like heroes."

 _He's right. Not all my students are too unlike me. But the way that kid spoke at the Sports Festival…_

"Shota, you see yourself in him, don't you?"

Aizawa snapped his eyes open to stare at Nezu, remaining silent. He stood still like a statue.

"You looked at him and saw yourself at your own Sports Festival. After that, you were almost immediately sent to Class 1-A from talks amongst the staff. I bet you felt it was unfair he wasn't going to get the same treatment due to our constant talk of the League of Villains issue, weren't you?"

Aizawa frowned. He hated this annoying rat when he got under his skin.

"But I always hear you say that you hate favoritism among UA? Has favoritism plagued your teaching now that you have seen someone that is like you? Or is the reality that you are training him to give him the chance that you were given? Maybe it's not because you want to use him for fame or that you simply like him more, but because you have a desire to help someone who doesn't have the best situation? And quite possibly, you know deep inside that you're the only one capable to do it?"

Aizawa begrudgingly spoke, "I couldn't sit by and watch someone like him not get the attention I did."

Nezu laughed at being right, "It's sometimes the subtlest, kindest acts that show us how heroic we really are." He jumped up from his seat and started to walk away saying, "I'll look forward to seeing how much you actually help him."

…

Aizawa was researching the latest villain outbreaks on his phone in front of the gym when he realized that 1000 punches shouldn't take 2 hours long. When he walked back to the gym, he was shocked to see Shinso, shirtless and dripping in sweat, continuing to punch the bag. His hair was tied back tightly and was wet with sweat. He noticed red stains on his hair and body, the punching bag, and the ground where Shinso had bloodied his fists. Aizawa finally noticed that Shinso had wrapped his fists in what looks like fabric from his shirt.

"2,331...huff…hngg…. 2,332…" Shinso mumbled, punching twice, one for each arm, for each number.

 _Of course, he went beyond 1,000. You can't leave aspiring heroes by themselves._

"Okay, kid, slow your roll," Eraserhead yelled out, causing Shinso to fall backwards on the ground. He held onto his fists and tensed up, clenching his teeth in pain.

"My god, why didn't you just stop at 1000?"

Shinso grunted as a response. Eraserhead walked over to him and examined his hands from under the bloodied fabric, sighing. He stood up and motioned Shinso to follow him.

"Come on, let's get you patched up so we can continue,"

…

Shinso bit down on the towel hard as he screamed in it. His sweat continued even after he had stopped punching. His hands felt like fire.

"Calm down, pain is something you need to get used to," Aizawa muttered. _You need to learn what pain and healing truly are. Recovery Girl is not going to be out on the field._ The teacher first started off by running cool water over the wounds in the gym bathroom. Shinso tensed from it but kept it together. The boy was confused when the teacher searched for objects in the janitor's closet. He brought out a bucket, poured some liquid in it, and gave Shinso a towel. Eraserhead glared at Shinso and spoke, "I don't want to have to put stitches in your mouth," which caused Shinso to reluctantly bite on the towel. Eraserhead grabbed his wrists and thrust them in the bucket. It was pure rubbing alcohol.

"HNNNNNNNNNNGHHH!" Shinso screamed, muffled by the towel.

"You tore your knuckles to shreds, but better this than an infection," Eraserhead pulled Shinso's red hands out of the bucket and began to pat them down with a dry towel. He began to rub cream on it and proceeded to wrap Shinso's hands up tightly. When Shinso tensed his hands up during this process, Eraserhead slapped his face and proceeded to continue the first aid while his hands relaxed. Once he was done, he washed his hands.

"That'll take a while to heal, but you should be fine pain-wise after you rest tonight. We'll break for lunch and continue afterward with quirk training. You know the drill," instructed Eraserhead before he left the room.

Shinso took the towel out of his mouth and threw it to the side, walking with pain coursing through his hands and cheeks. _What a tough teacher._

…

After the two came back from their lunch, Shinso ran laps in between quirk training sessions. He practiced beating Aizawa at activating it (in which case it failed every time), practiced using different questions and ways to initiate a response (he got a few statements instead of the usual questions that initiated a response to work, which excited him enough to smile), and practiced different responses (so far, the only non-verbal response that worked was nods and shakes of the head). Eraserhead made note of how Shinso could improve his quirk and had him run afterwards. By the end, he was just as exhausted as he was yesterday. Most of all, his hands were burning the entire time. The exhaustion that caused him didn't help.

"You made progress. 7 o'clock again tomorrow. We need to get your body in top shape," and with that, Eraserhead was gone.

…

"Hitoshi? Are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Dad. I just went a little too far with my training today. I wasn't in danger." Shinso explained to his Dad.

"That is what every hero says to someone when they don't want them to worry, son," His dad squinted at him, looking down at him from the porch. His brown, spiky hair seemed to intensify his glare.

Shinso sighed, "Okay, honestly, this really is from training. I had to punch a bag and I ended up doing twice the amount."

"Why?"

Shinso looked at his dad with a soft smile, "I actually felt like a hero today,"

Shinso's father looked down at his son with a rare smile on his face, "Well, heroes shouldn't have injuries from training. Let's see what you did to them."

…

Aizawa was in the middle of the late-night reading with The Cat when he received a message from his phone.

 _"Thank you for training me,"_ Aizawa smirked at his phone for his student, but it was immediately replaced by terror from another message.

 _"Hey there Deadhead! Haha! I'm coming down tomorrow for some business! I'll see you then!"_

Shit.

*Note: The doctor in S3E8 is Shinso's dad in this story. Thought that would be interesting!


	4. Day 3 of 10

"The past two days we've worked on getting your body accustomed to physical and quirk training. Today, we're going to see how agile and clever you are," explained Eraserhead.

The gym doors were mysteriously locked and Shinso was confused until Eraserhead came and explained what they were going to do. Shinso sat down his backpack. His hands had healed, but he still grimaced with pain anytime he had to use them.

"Your hands still hurt," noted Eraser, adjusting his scarf that had fallen off one shoulder.

Shinso nodded, "Dad is a doctor, so he rewrapped them."

Eraserhead didn't respond. There was something else. He squinted at Shinso.

Shinso sighed, "He wanted me to get stitches and rest, but I told him I had to be here. He said to just avoid using my hands and it might heal in time. He was really against it but I was persistent enough."

"I knew that was the case," Eraserhead walked over towards Shinso, "Today, we are going to Recovery Girl to get your hands healed. We can't train with battered up fists. Today's lesson is one you'll need to know."

Shinso sighed, "That's so relieving. They honestly hurt so m-"

 _He's not going to like this._ Eraserhead held out his hand, causing Shinso to stop talking. It seemed as if he was asking Shinso to show him his hands. Shinso place both of them in front of Eraser, who proceeded to unwrap them. The results were not nice. Shinso's hands were blood red and the top few layers of skin around the knuckles were definitely gone. Aizawa realized that if he had gone any further, he would have gotten down to bone. Aizawa had definitely had his knuckles bloodied before and he knew firsthand how painful this was, but from the looks of it, it seemed worse than he had anticipated.

"With this sort of injury, I'm surprised you slept at all."

Shinso shrugged, "Painkillers are a wonderful invention."

"They indeed are, but this only further proves how important today is. We are going to Recovery Girl now."

Shinso nodded and began walking towards the main UA building where the infirmary was, a few floors up. He looked at it and noticed a window is open. He stopped, wondering why it was open, which then proceeded to the connection that the gym doors were locked. There's no way….

"Eraserhead, when you say we are going to Recovery Girl…. _How_ are we getting there?"

 _Nice observation._ "You have seen through my logical ruse. We are going to run and climb there."

"Can you even climb the building? Is there anything to grab on?"

Eraserhead, _as always_ , creepily smiled at Shinso with a simple, "no, figure out how to get up there yourself."

Shinso should've expected this. He stood for a few moments thinking on how to do this.

"And I'm guessing you want me to do this with my uncovered knuckles."

"Yep."

 _He wants me to be able to do this in pain. That's the lesson._ Shinso looked at the buildings around the main UA building. There wasn't anything for him to jump on, until he noticed something as he looked around the infirmary window.

 _There are hooks all around U.A.'s buildings to hang banners._

Shinso reacted immediately. He looked around and pointed behind Eraser.

"Can I use that?"

"Huh?" Eraser turned, giving Shinso the perfect opportunity. He swept Eraser's legs while grabbing his scarf. The moment Shinso had all of Eraserhead's iconic scarf in his hands, he bolted.

 _I'm sorry, but this is the only way I know how._

Shinso could almost imagine Eraserhead's rage, chasing him quickly, which caused his sprint to be faster. While running towards the main building, he began to knot the scarf – a skill his father taught him – and prepared for his plan.

He threw the scarf as high as he could. He managed to get the scarf, which was surprisingly denser than he imagined, on a hook right below the open window. He tugged on the scarf once to make sure it would stay and began to climb it as fast as he could, pulling on the scarf and walking on the side of the building.

The pain in his knuckles hit him, and he dropped a few feet initially, but did his best to fight through the pain. Holding onto the scarf and climbing caused enough pain for tears to start to develop in his eyes. He wiped his eyes on his shoulder every step he took. He found himself grunting, _no, nearly screaming,_ every time he grabbed onto the rope. He motivated himself with the thought of being slammed on his back at the Sports Festival, a feeling he never wants to feel again. _Thank you, Midoriya._

Aizawa gave Shinso a few seconds to run after the attack that he had done. He stood up and walked towards the building. When he reached the clearing, he could see Shinso smiling down at him from the window, his scarf hanging on a hook below the infirmary window.

Aizawa continued walking towards the entrance of the building, opened the door, and walked inside. Shinso immediately was stunned. _Only the gym doors were closed!_

A few moments later, the door opened and Eraserhead walked in with Recovery Girl, who looked irritated.

"Eraserhead, at this rate, poor Shinso here is going to be a frequent guest just like Midoriya!"

"Nonsense, Midoriya breaks a bone every other hour. Shinso only went too far _once._ It's not going to happen again, so please heal him. He's a pain in the ass if he can't grab onto a scarf without screaming."

Shinso sat down in a chair in embarrassment, both from the mention of Midoriya and Eraserhead's comment. Recovery Girl walked over and began to examine his hands.

"Eraserhead, why didn't you bring him to me earlier! I can tell this is an old wound."

Eraserhead huffed, "It's not lethal. He needed to get used to the pain. And he did."

"Not really," responded Shinso, "I was so engulfed in the pain, I didn't realize you had left the front door open. It should've been obvious."

 _Maybe I should tell him that part was just a joke to see his reaction._

Shinso sniffed.

 _Okay, nope. I can't do that._

Eraserhead walked over towards Shinso as Recovery Girl walked away to record the injury for the records. He placed a hand on the young boy's head, causing him to flinch slightly.

"You could've easily controlled me to take my scarf, or even to let you into the school. But you used your wits to take the scarf with your physical abilities and was even able to pull yourself up here with bloodied knuckles. You didn't rely on your quirk when it could've been so easy to do. Your training is starting to show."

He let go of the boy and walked out of the room, leaving behind a "when you're done, meet me outside."

Shinso didn't know what to feel initially, until it hit him, and he simply smiled.

"That's the first time I ever seen that man give a compliment. You must've been working really hard," noted Recovery Girl, as she began to heal his hands with her quirk, "I wonder if the USJ incident messed with his head a little. I might need to check on him."

"Yeah, it doesn't even seem like Eraserhead."

She finished the healing and Shinso flexed his hands and enjoyed their movement without pain.

"Alright, you should be good to go. If Eraserhead pushes you enough that you hurt yourself again, let me know so I can lecture him."

Shinso quickly responded, "Uh- actually it wasn't him. I pushed myself. I did more than what he asked."

"Hah! You sound like Midoriya."

Shinso frozed, "R-really?"

"That boy is in here more times than he should be. It's a shame really."

Shinso was confused, "Why? Why is he in here this much?"

Recovery Girl hesitated. Past events flew through her mind. She couldn't tell Shinso everything, but she knew of his struggles from what Eraserhead told her, and she knew he and Midoriya have struggled from similar unfairness in life.

"Midoriya may seem like your typical quirk user, but it destroys his body every time he uses it." _How much should I say?_ "It's not uncommon but his is extreme. Plus… I think he understands people more than you think, if you give him the chance. He has an incredible character, filled with hope and innocence."

Shinso frowned slightly, "Perhaps it was foolish to have envy towards him. I might have to wait a while to improve myself before meeting him again but…"

 _Perhaps I could protect_ _ **his**_ _shadow._

"Now, now, I'm sure Eraserhead is waiting on you. Go on before he beats you up back here."

"Yes ma'am!"

…

Aizawa pulled on his scarf from the hook and watched it fall to the ground. It was covered with Shinso's blood, meaning he would have to do a laundry run that night. He picked it up and held it under one arm.

"Hey, Deadhead!"

 _Shit!_

Aizawa turned around and saw her. He couldn't run off or disappear. She had him cornered.

"Ms. Joke. I'm surprised you got in."

"Haha! I was given a special pass! How are you? Did you beat up some villains?"

"Quite the opposite really."

Joke became curious, twirling her teal hair with one finger, "Ooo, this is a story you should tell!"

Aizawa sighed. She really shouldn't know about Shinso.

 _Shinso. Shit. He's going to come out here._

"L-let's take a walk."

"Ooo! You're starting to relax a little bit there. How about I try to make you laugh with a joke?"

The two walked away from the main building and back to the gym. This hopefully would buy him time. Ms. Joke kept sprouting off jokes in an effort to get Eraserhead to laugh, but it didn't work. Anytime she tried to use her quirk, Eraserhead put a stop to it.

"Why are you here, Joke?"

"I needed to talk to you about that case."

"If this is Hero Killer business, I'm not interested."

"No, not that one. That has been in the minds of everyone. I'm talking about an underground case, the one that has not been gaining traction."

Aizawa stopped and looked back at her, "Lighthand." He said the name with distaste.

Joke nodded, "Hero Killer could theoretically be underground, but it's getting so big that it's starting not to. Lighthand is different. Murders across rural areas. Even stranger, all the victims have similar quirks. It's so bizarre. I was wondering if you were going to address it, since there is no class this week… actually, why _are_ you still here?"

Aizawa disregarded the question, "I've been tracking Lighthand since the first murder and haven't been able to find where he attacks next. It's been a long process, but I'm working out a plan. This is my specialty."

Joke looked passed Aizawa and noticed a backpack placed down in front of the gym. It was spilled open, containing dark clothes. _But Eraserhead doesn't carry a backpack, so it must be-_

Joke's jaw dropped, "You're training a student."

Aizawa sighed and placed a hand on his forehead. He hated how observant she was.

"It has be the kid from the Sports Festival… no way, "Joke took a step back, "This is too weird. Are you sure you're actually Eraserhead?"

Aizawa responded, "Back then, a General Studies student being in the top 8 meant immediate transferal. Shinso is disadvantaged with villains being the most talked about subject in the staff," he paused for a second, wondering if more information was necessary. Aizawa trusted Joke with his life – as he has had to do before – but he wasn't one to talk about… feelings. He cringed hard at the thought.

"He shows potential. Just pushing him, that's all."

Joke took a few steps back. She felt chills through her body. She pointed at him.

"You're totally not Eraserhead!"

"If I wasn't Eraserhead, I wouldn't be able to make it into the school."

"Oh… I suppose."

"Look, is there any other business? Because I have to get the kid ready."

Ms. Joke's expression changed, "I see now. Alright, I'll let you handle this, but call me if you need me for backup," she giggled, "Not like you care about me anyways."

For some reason, that joke hit something.

"J-Joke."

She whipped her head around at the hesitation in his voice.

"I will let you know when we defeated Lighthand, not when we need backup."

"Okay, Eraser."

She left Aizawa, who gave out a long sigh. _I have indeed gotten too soft for my own good._

…

When Shinso finally found Eraserhead, he asked, "So, why was Ms. Joke here?"

 _I can only say "shit" and sigh so many times in one day…_

"I'm guessing you ran into her," he knew he should've walked back to the building to find Shinso the moment Ms. Joke left.

"Just being transparent here, but I controlled her to make sure she wasn't a villain…" Shinso hesitated, "Just a few questions to see her intent, that's all. Does she always show up to annoy you with jokes because that seems kind of pointless."

 _Perhaps she always joke around so quirks like Shinso's doesn't know her true intentions. She's smarter than I give credit for._

"Yes, she is annoying. We need to continue. It'll be quirk training for the rest of the day."

Shinso squinted for a second and smile, "Hey, Eraser…"

"Hm?"

"You're slightly pink in the cheeks."

"3 laps. Around the school. Right now."

Embarrassing Eraserhead for a split second was worth every step Shinso took.


	5. Day 4 of 10

"Good news, kid. We're going to find you a weapon."

Shinso's eyes lit up. The physical activity he had done the past few days could now be condensed into a warm-up for the morning. The afternoon could be used for more hero based training, which excited Shinso.

" _Really_ , Eraser? I can use a weapon?"

Eraserhead nodded and showed him to the display of weapons that lay on the floor in front of them.

"Think carefully about what you need and what you can use. Don't think of this as something to use when your quirk fails. This is a tool that is to be equally used. Keep in mind though, you must keep your weapon training a secret and it must stay at the school with me. This is only so you are familiar with a weapon for when the time comes."

Shinso nodded and carefully observed the display in front of him.

There were all sorts of weapons, most he didn't recognize. There were the standard knives and swords, but also miscellaneous objects like a scarf (he already decided he didn't want to be an Eraserhead clone), a cane, and a yoyo. Most of them, however, seemed so odd and complicated to him. He picked up each weapon and held it in his hands, feeling how it weighed and where its center of mass was. _What could possibly work?_

"I want to be a hero that can take down an army before they even notice I'm there, but if things get nasty, I don't want to be defenseless," stated Shinso, "I'm not sure if any of this fits it."

Eraserhead shrugged, "I chose my scarf because it was comfortable, and I was able to use it to fit that description. Don't ponder on it too long."

"Isn't it more effective to just learn them all?"

"You are going to learn them all, but everyone should at least be extremely comfortable with one. I'm able to use everything here, but my scarf is my specialty. Choose something that fits. You can change it later if you change your mind."

Shinso kept looking over each weapon and wondered which was more comfortable. He picked up a weapon that he had been ignoring, for obvious reasons. It was off-balanced but for some reason, it felt like it should've been. He twirled it around and found it felt satisfying how it swung through the air. Ideas began to run through his head.

"Eraserhead… does it have to be this exact weapon or can we alter it?"

"What is your idea?"

…

A quick trip to the workshop lead to the ultimate weapon. The only person who was still at school was Hatsume Mei, who was beyond joyous to alter the weapon Shinso had in mind. (Eraserhead never looked more aggravated than when he looked at Hatsume.)

 _"_ _Oh yes! I've been waiting for someone to come in to ask me to do a weapon this cool! What would you want?!"_

 _"_ _I'm not sure how possible it is, but it would be nice to have it go between this form and a whip-like form."_

 _"_ _Oh, that's super easy! I just invented a technique on doing it! You're Shinso, right? The brainwash guy? How about I add a voice amplifier to it!?"_

 _"_ _Um, sur-"_

 _"_ _I'll be back!"_

By the time they had gotten back to the gym, Shinso was beyond ecstatic (in terms of Shinso, that is). He was ready to test it out. He felt the weapon in his hands and swung it around, still surprised at how elegant it looked as it flew through the air.

Eraserhead leaned against the wall and commented, "Shinso, you do realize using a scythe is not going to help you out in looking 'heroic.'"

He replied, "As long as I'm doing heroic acts, then I'm heroic no matter how I looked," He paused, "Plus, it looks badass whenever I defeat villains."

Eraserhead smirked, "You can't look badass if you don't know how to use it."

"That's why I'm here."

"Indeed. You'll need to learn how to use a scythe and its whip form, which is twice the work. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"I've already accepted this 'hell.'"

…

Shinso realized that maybe he underestimated what he thought hell was. For the entire day, all Shinso did was fight Eraserhead with his new weapon and hand-to-hand combat, and he never got a break. Shinso failed every single time, but with that failure he learned something.

 _Right before Shinso brought the scythe behind Eraserhead, he used his scarf to capture the scythe and fling it out of Shinso's hands. It was within seconds before Eraserhead had punched Shinso, causing him to fall to the ground with a huge THUMP! Shinso took a few breaths before Eraserhead criticized the fight._

 _"_ _You didn't pull soon enough. If you did, you would've knocked me off balanced."_

Shinso realized that each time he fell down, Eraserhead's critiques helped him pick up his weapon quickly. It was getting towards the end of the day and Shinso had already learned so much, both with the scythe and the whip. The two were facing each other when Shinso went for a sideways cut.

"You've already tried that be-"

Shinso pressed the button that activated the whip and caught Eraserhead within the weapon and smirked. He finally caught him. He felt a small tug on his leg and looked down: Eraserhead had caught his leg within his scarf. He frowned slightly.

"You improved a lot today. Let's break and come back tomorrow. 6 AM."

They both let go of the other and proceeded to head out of the gym.

"Also, as I said, you have to leave the scythe with me. Your parents would be very suspicious if you brought something like this back."

He didn't argue back. Shinso handed over the scythe to Eraserhead who carefully held it balanced on his shoulder. After leaving the gym, which Eraserhead proceeded to lock, he asked a question that had been lingering in his mind since training with Eraser.

"Eraserhead, should I have some sort of code with my quirk?"

"That's an odd thing to say," he turned towards Shinso after putting his keys back in his pocket, "What is your reasoning?"

"Even though this quirk is mine and I don't care if people think I have a villain quirk, I realize it could be morally wrong if I don't have some sort of… code. Look at Ojiro. He _forfeited_ because of me. Even though it was legal to do so, I'm starting to think that it was morally unheroic."

Eraserhead placed a hand on Shinso's shoulder* and spoke clearly, "Figure out what the definition of a hero is first. Then, follow up by what you should do to be that."

He walked away as Shinso turned towards the entrance of the school, thinking about the question.

 _*Note: Shinso's Shinshoulder_

 _…_ _.that was a bad. I'm sorry, not sorry._


	6. Day 5 of 10

"Think of your quirk like your weapon. It's just a tool for you to use, like your scythe is when you fight. The more tools you have, the more versatile you are, but that means more to factor in."

Shinso nodded. The two had just finished morning "warm-ups" and were facing each other in the middle. The idea was to fight with weapons (and sometimes without them) but with quirks involved.

"And I can go all out?"

"Well, I prefer to not to be dead."

"You look the part."

"I don't have to attack for you to look dead either. Let's start."

The two of them went back and forward, with Eraserhead always being the victor. Shinso could never escape the range of Eraserhead's quirk. They sparred for what seemed like hours, with breaks in between. Shinso knew he had to prove himself somehow and came up with a plan during a short break.

Shinso sprang after Eraserhead and quickly unleashed a downward whip attack. Eraserhead easily dodged it and activated his quirk, making sure Shinso would find a way around it.

 _Think, kid. Your quirk can be used if you just think._

Shinso quickly stepped back and unleashed another downward whip attack.

 _He's becoming predictable._

In fact, Shinso kept using downward whip attacks, so much that it was getting hard to see.

"Even though I can't see you through this dust, it doesn't mean your quirk will work."

Eraserhead kept his distance from the dust cloud around Shinso, who continued to pick up more dust. He knew he'd just spring out at any moment for an attack. Then, everything went black.

"What?"

Shinso smirked, holding onto a remote that controlled the lights of the gym. He knew where the remotes were kept in the building and decided to snatch one before Eraserhead arrived for this reason. He waited on using it for the element of surprise.

Eraserhead was on guard. The limited lighting was a disadvantage to Shinso as well.

Shinso took a deep breath. This had to work.

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH-KA!* " yelled Shinso as he ran after Eraserhead.

Eraserhead hissed at Shinso's battlecry as he quickly jumped to the side away from Shinso. He was about to throw his scarf, but he couldn't move his arms. He was completely frozen.

Shinso turned on the lights and Eraserhead got a look at his face. He was completely shocked.

"S-Stand up straight."

Eraserhead stood up from his crouched position. Shinso let go of the brainwash. His face looked like it was frozen in shock. Eraserhead tilted his head and crossed his arms.

"I have never seen anything in my life be so stupid like that," commented Shinso, "and yet still work."

"If it works, it isn't stupid," responded Eraserhead, who smirked at the student, "You have just made yourself into a terrifying foe for anyone who is against you."

"I don't know what is dumber: the fact that it works or the fact I never thought about it before. I couldn't have done it without you."

Aizawa folded his arms and looked at his pupil with kind eyes. He had definitely improved quickly over the past week. He had gotten over a lot of his mental barriers and was starting to learn how to think like a hero. He was still weak and had a lot of training to go, but he was improving. He didn't have to completely change his attitude, especially since he is doing more underground work, but he definitely had a lot more respect towards others.

"Don't give yourself all the credit. You may be able to go against an opponent who hasn't fought you before, but can you go against someone who knows your tricks?"

In this case, Shinso decided to immediately go for an underhanded scythe attack towards Eraserhead.

"Now you can't make any reaction towards me because of this stupidity – ka!"

Eraserhead didn't react as he rushed towards Shinso and swept him from under his feet.

"You're still a tad reliant on your quirk. It worked the first time but think about a situation where the enemy knows how you work. You'll be great against the minor guys who aren't going to be prepared for you, but the big ones, you'll have trouble with."

Shinso nodded and jumped up again. They continued the routine, with Eraserhead giving Shinso advice and Shinso taking it all in. Shinso eventually became quiet, realizing that he should be focused on defeating Eraserhead instead of finding an opportunity to use his quirk. He became closer and closer to defeating Eraserhead, but never could.

Shinso fell to the ground after another defeat, "You're so stubbornly strong."

"You're stubbornly weak."

Shinsou groaned and took a few deep breaths, but then he heard his phone ding from a message. He sat up immediately and walked over to his backpack and pulled out his phone.

"What are y-"

"I only hear use a phone for urgent communication. A message means someone needs to talk to me immediately."

He opened the message from _Dad._

 _-Hitoshi, I know you are training, but you need to come home as soon as possible. Your mother is a disaster right now and is begging you to come home._

"I have to go. Something happened to Mom. She's alive but apparently she's 'a disaster.'"

"That could mean anything. Alright. Consider this as a treat for defeating me once today. Go home and take care of her."

"Thank you, sir."

…

"Mom? Dad?" Shinso opened the door to his house and locked it behind him. His parents usually spent their time in the kitchen and living room, but they were nowhere to be seen.

He went upstairs and looked around, before hearing soft sobs in his parent's room.

 _Oh no._

He walked softly, and lightly knocked on the door as to not disturb them.

"Mom? Dad? It's Hitoshi."

"Come in."

He nearly bolted to his mother, who was sitting on the bed sobbing. His father was holding her, comforting her by rubbing her back. As Shinso hugged his mother, she grabbed onto her son and didn't let go. She was mumbling into his shoulder. Shinso could make out the words, "don't leave me."

"Mom…"

She took a deep breath and wiped away her tears, "I-I'm sorry. I- I can't."

She continued to weep and mumble. After holding her for a few minutes, she calmed down and they tucked her into bed, where she wept more. They left the room and walked downstairs. His father made him dinner as he sat at the dining room table.

"I've never seen Mom like this before."

"I told you, she's a disaster. She was worse before," he paused, "She's not like you or me. She always gets so upset, but this time, for good reason."

"Dad, you still haven't told me. What happened to her?

"Hitoshi, you're big enough to understand."

His heart jumped too many times. He couldn't believe this was real. _What was going on?_

"Your mother's childhood friend, Fumiko, she was found dead in her home out in the country. She is the ninth person to be murdered from the Lighthand villain."

Shinso froze.

"I took the rest of the week off to be with her. I know your training is very important, but right now, she needs all the support she can get. I would really appreciate it if you took the rest of your break off."

…

 _"_ _I'm not sure if I'm able to come tomorrow."_

 _"_ _It must be pretty bad if you are saying that."_

 _"_ _My mother is a mess and Dad wants me to stay home the rest of the week, but I got him to agree to just tomorrow. Her closest friend was just murdered from some villain. I want to train, but she isn't okay."_

 _"_ _Who was the murderer?"_

 _"_ _It's a villain called Lighthand."_

 _"_ _Go somewhere that your parents can't hear you and call me."_

 _*Note: In Japanese, you end questions with "ka" so by yelling "raaaaaagh-ka" Shinso was_ _ **technically**_ _asking a question. It's so stupid, but it works, and it's a humorous gag that I could see HeroAca using._


	7. Day 7 of 10

The phone call two nights ago kept running through Shinso's head as he walked towards Eraserhead's office.

 _He dialed Eraserhead's phone number, shaking as he brought the phone to his ear._

 _*click* "Shinso, I've been following the Lighthand murders since they started. They are starting to get more and more dangerous."_

 _"_ _I didn't even know about them. All anyone is talking about is Stain."_

 _"_ _If Lighthand gets out of control, then your future is in jeopardy."_

 _"_ _Wh-what!"_

 _"_ _Lighthand is killing people whose quirks may be deemed…. unheroic. The quirks of the other victims have the same connotation. They don't have any criminal records but that didn't matter."_

 _"_ _So if he becomes very known…"_

 _"_ _There could be a movement to destroy those with 'evil quirks.' You do not want that."_

 _Shinso couldn't say anything to that._

 _Eraserhead continued, "Once he reaches 10 murders, he's going to become a big enough danger for hero agencies to investigate, just like Stain."_

 _"_ _So, what are you saying, sir?"_

 _"_ _Take a day off and comfort your mother. Come to my office in two days at 7 AM. We can talk more about it. You cannot tell your parents or anyone we had this conversation. We are going into confidential manners right now." *click*_

He reached the door that had previously cause him so much stress a few days before. Shinso knocked and walked in, closing the door behind him.

"Lock it," responded Eraser, in which Shinso did so.

Eraserhead was so engrossed in taking notes and reading articles that he simply just motioned Shinso to sit down. Eraserhead looked more exhausted the closer Shinso came to him.

Eraser turned towards Shinso and responded, "Long story short, we are going to find Lighthand and turn him in."

Shinso blinked a few times before responding, "I'm not sure if I understand. I'm not licensed or anything. I won't be able to help you."

Eraserhead looked away from his student and pulled out a file from a drawer. It had many papers in it.

"In cases of extreme emergencies, pro heroes can request a temporary mission license of unlicensed citizens who have quirks that could be vital to the mission. One of Lighthand's members – a hero found out he runs a cult – was quirkless and didn't respond to any questioning. If he has more quirkless followers, then I'm essentially fighting quirkless. Plus, I made the argument that you could be useful in getting the followers to actually talk."

"You're not disadvantaged from fighting quirkless people," Shinso paused for a few seconds, "I have never in my life heard of this temporary mission license. Plus, wouldn't another hero help you more, like Ms. Joke?"

Eraserhead paused, wondering what he should say precisely, "If it was known to the general public that temporary mission licenses exist, then everyone that personally knows a hero would be begging them to take them on a mission. That's why there is a confidentiality statement you must uphold," he took a deep breath, "as for why I chose you rather than another hero, I am a big name for this type of work we are doing. If another hero had used the same reasons, it wouldn't have work. I'm putting you in a position to gain experience, and this is probably going to be mild enough that you won't get hurt. That's why we are going after Lighthand, not Stain."

Shinso wondered how much of Eraserhead's words held weight in the hero world. He decided to investigate it later, "So, do I have to sign something?"

"Yes, right here," He pulled out the appropriate papers and had Shinso sign, "And if you are wondering why a minor is able to do this, your parents already signed a few contracts that inexplicitly say that confidential contracts that are bounded in secrecy is dependent on your signature, not theirs. That means you can't tell them what is going on."

"That seems sketchy," muttered Shinso, as he finished signing.

Eraserhead placed the document in the file and placed it back in a drawer, "You'll find that a lot of your job is keeping the information confidential."

"So… start from the beginning. You said you have been following it?"

"Yes. From the start."

"Why haven't you taken action yet? And prevent a murder?" Shinso furrowed his brow. This seemed irresponsible.

"Simple. There isn't enough information. I have no idea where he could be or will be. I have compiled notes from all of the previous murders based off of eyewitnesses, family testimonies, and other miscellaneous sources." He showed Shinso his notepad that he had been taking notes in, "Now, let me tell you what I've found so far..."

…

LIGHTHAND

Name: Unknown

Gender: Male

Quirk: Lighthand – can emit pure light from his hands. This light can range from different wavelengths, from gamma rays to radio waves. He kills his victims by placing his hand on them and overloading their body with a high intensity of gamma rays, leaving his trademark "hand" on their corpses. Anytime a hero comes close, he blinds them with pure white light and leaves without a trace.

Affiliation: The Lighthand Cult – One witness claimed that the cult is comprised of quirkless people who believe 'evil' quirks are ruining society. Lighthand is seen as the ultimate 'good' quirk. Eyewitness was killed after reporting the affiliation (8th death).

Birthday: Unknown

Height: Ranging between 190 – 210 cm

Blood type: Unknown

Appearance: Always dresses in white. Wears a blank mask and hood to hide identity.

VICTIMS (Most Recent to Less Recent):

10 – (Male) ?

9 - (Female - 29) Nakata Fumiko – Quirk: Nerve Touch – Can cause nerves in another person to overload through touch, causing immense pain.

8 – (Male - 32) Imai Tsunayoshi – Quirk: Poison Breath – Can breathe out a poison that can cause others to fall in a comatose state.

7 – (Female - 63) Yoshikuni Aki – Quirk: Water Goblin – Has the appearance of the monster _Kappa*._ No known physical advantages.

6 – (Male - 17) Toma Masaaki – Quirk: _Gashadokuro*_ Transformation – Can transform into a skyscraper-like skeleton.

5 – (Female - 18) Akiya Eru – Quirk: Blood Manipulation – Can control any type of blood, even in the body of another person.

4 – (Male - 43) Rai Keitaro – Quirk: Radioactive Eyes – Can emit dangerous gamma rays from eyes.

3 – (Female - 55) Iori Urena – Quirk: Fear Sight – Through touch, can see the fears of another person.

2 – (Male - 22) Okabe Koto – Quirk: Internal Organs - Can take out internals to use in daily life without pain, injury, or death

1 – (Female - 34) Aizawa Rin – Quirk: Coma Touch - Can touch a person and send them into a day-long coma.

Murders occur weekly. Odd number victims are female and even number victims are male. Each one lives in a rural area, usually by themselves, and possess a quirk that one can perceive as "evil." However, each one has no criminal record and are simply innocent citizens. Family members and friends of each victim confirms discrimination in childhood and adulthood based on "evil" quirk.

Evidence of hideouts changing depending on next victim. Max 5 km from victim's residence. _Current possible hideout near UA in a doctor's office where eyewitnesses saw possible followers of Lighthand, speaking of his testimonies._

…

Shinso took the information in slowly, reading each line. He felt disgusted and insulted by such a person. He almost felt like throwing up, but he felt like he had to ask Eraserhead an important question.

"Are you related to Aizawa Rin?" he gulped.

Eraserhead took a deep breath, "She is my cousin, but we were as close as siblings. She passed about a month and a half ago. Our family was deeply affected."

Shinso couldn't even imagine the pain Eraserhead had felt over it.

"I couldn't stand her being bullied for her Coma Touch, so I was always with her, protecting her."

Shinso nodded, not wanting to press the issue more. _Did Eraserhead want to be a hero because of her?_

"Nakata Fumiko and mom were friends growing up. They both were bullied, mom for being quirkless and Fumiko for her quirk."

Aizawa noticed Shinso's tone, "You're worried for her."

"Yes. She appreciated the time off yesterday. I just wish I could do something to help her."

"That is good; however, this isn't a revenge mission. We are simply stopping a criminal. Got it?"

"Got it."

"If you throw your feelings in there, it's going to get nasty, so just pretend that the victims are someone we don't know."

"Got it."

"Now I have a vague idea of where the hideout is. I'll tell you my plan and if you have any ideas, throw them in there…"

…

 _"_ _And finally, you need a disguise. He may recognize you from the Sports Festival and we do not want that. Find whatever you can around your house. It doesn't need to be anything fancy. Remember, this is a disguise, not a costume."_

Shinso searched through his closet for what he could possibly wear for something like this. The General Studies course don't choose hero names or receive costumes like the Hero classes does. He pulled out a small chest from his closet and opened it. It was full of Halloween costumes that Shinso had made each year growing up. He looked through it and wondered if he had anything in the past that could serve to hide his face. The only face covering he could find was a pair of old, cheap Eraserhead goggles were too big for his face when he was younger. He notices that the plastic was distorted from being underneath the weight of other costumes. _It's almost as if…_

Shinso placed the goggles around his face. He had to contort the plastic a bit more, but he got it to fit over his mouth and nose perfectly. While rummaging through the chest, he also found a voice amplifier, which could help distort and amplify his voice to help guard his identity. He tested it, satisfied how it sounded, though he would have to talk a bit differently to help his disguise. He found a plain black hoodie and pulled it on. He saw a pair of steampunk goggles from last year's Halloween costume that he quickly put it on over his hood. Looking in the mirror, he was satisfied, especially since his hair and eyes were completely covered. He pulled on black sweats and boots. To pull it all off, he found old knee pads, elbow pads, and hand pads back when he rollerbladed. Satisfied with the look, he placed it all near his bedside. He took a look at the steampunk goggles and Eraserhead goggles and decided they needed updated color wise. He found some paint and quickly painted them both a deep purple, like his hair. Satisfied with the look and letting them dry, he fell into bed, staring in the moonlight and wondering what was in store for him. His cat, Gamu, jumped into bed with him and fell asleep by his side.

 _*Note: Kappa is a Japanese aquatic monster that resembles a duck, frog, and turtle. Gashadokuro is a Japanese monster that is a 90 ft skeleton. (If these are wrong, please let me know.) I'd imagine that having quirks like Japanese monsters would be seen as "evil."_


	8. Day 8 of 10

The two heroes spent their day in preparation. They slept, ate huge meals, told their cats goodbye, and brought everything that they needed. However, they both felt like they were forgetting something. They met at dawn, on top of a rooftop so they could see the streets around them. This was the most urban area that the killers were sanctioned in, probably because they became brave enough to take on someone bigger. The thought disgusted the two.

Eraserhead and Shinso watched the sun lower, waiting for the perfect moment to infiltrate a building that Eraserhead had leads on. While waiting, they didn't speak much, until Shinso realized what he had forgotten.

"Oh yeah, you probably shouldn't call me 'Shinso' when we are in there. They may recognize me. It makes this outfit kind of meaningless," he stated in a voice unlike his own. The voice amplifier helped distort it just enough that it was unrecognizable to those not paying attention.

Eraserhead looked up from his watch at the student, "I knew I forgot something. That was it. You're not fully disguised yet. Got a code name you want to use? And before you freak out like you did with the scythe, it isn't permanent."

Shinso thought for a moment. This isn't necessarily a hero name, but it _felt_ like it had the same weight.

"Let's do Cymric."

"Like the cat."

"It's not permanent. I don't care."

"Alright, Cymric. If you give me hell after this, I'm reminding everyone your _chosen_ code name is a cat species. I will not stop them if they tease you for it."

" _What?_ "

"You fell for my logical ruse to get a reaction out of you. Your face is priceless."

Eraserhead had a large hoodie over his hero outfit and scarf as a disguise. The hood came over his head, but even still, Shinso could see the mischievous smile cross his face.

He responded, "You should probably have a code name too."

"Bombay."

"Of course, you would choose that. I'm going to tell the principal about this."

"He has accepted my liking for cats a long time ago."

…

The sun had finally touched the edge of the sky. Shinso was honestly in awe by how beautiful it was. Warm colors flooded the sky and he could see nighttime start to rise in the opposite direction.

"We've gone over the plan a few times. Are you ready?"

"Yes."

The two jump down into an alley and followed the path they had figured out. They approached a small doctor's office.

 _"_ _The Lighthand cult is sanctioned in the basement of a local doctor's office in this part of town."_

 _Shinso furrowed his eyebrows, "Must be a small sanction."  
"Not necessarily. I say more than likely, it leads to a deeper underground portion where they have cult rituals._

In the doctor's office, an old man was wiping down the countertop that he stood behind.

"I'm sorry, we're closed down for the night."

Eraserhead immediately responded, in a voice unlike his, "Oh, excuse for our entrance. I'm Cymric and this is Bombay. We were wondering where the train station is. We had a costume party to go to and we sure don't wanna miss it."

"Oh of course. If you leave this shop and take 2 immediate rights, and walk for about 10 minutes and you'll be there."

"Thank you," Eraserhead nudged Shinso's foot.

"So, it's a short walk?"

"Why, yes."

Shinso activated brainwash and the man stopped wiping the countertop.

"Stand up straight and whisper to us if the Lighthand cult is here."

The man whispered, "Yes."

Eraserhead walked over to the man behind the counter and handcuffed his hands behind his back, "If he knows that they are here, he is a suspect in the murders as much as Lighthand is. Get as much information as you can out of him."

Shinso nodded, "Whisper your name and quirk."

"Maita Yosuke and I'm quirkless."

Shinso and Eraserhead looked at each other by the information.

"Whisper why you are holding Lighthand."

"I want evil quirks to be purged. I lost my wife to the owner of an unstable, evil quirk. It almost drove me to suicide until Lighthand showed me what the real evil is: it's the villains' quirks."

Eraserhead commented, "That would've been difficult information to get out of him if he was interrogated."

"Whisper how we reach the Lighthand cult from here."

"I insert a code from under the counter and a door opens on the door leading you down steps. There is a maze that is only known to members that will lead you to the main room where rituals take place."

"Whisper if there is any way to get to the main room without going through the maze."

"No."

"Type in the code to open the door."

Eraserhead allowed one hand to type in the code, allowing for a door to open. Eraserhead recuffed him.

"Whisper how to get through the maze."

"Take all rights."

Eraserhead muttered, "Cymric, have him sleep for 24 hours. We'll pick him up on the way back."

"Sleep for 24 hours and make it a very deep sleep."

The man dropped to the ground. Eraserhead looked at his student with a smirk.  
"I could get used to this. You just made my job so much easier."

"What would you have done without my brainwash?"

"Beat him up until he answers while making sure he isn't able to fight back with my quirk," he paused, "In this case, you had the 'heroic' quirk."

Shinso shrugged, "What matters is we got the information we need," he looked at the door that was currently blowing cool air in their direction, "We should go."

The two approach the door with caution and observed the stairs that lead downward. They took each step carefully. Shinso had taken his scythe off his back and held it out in front him, holding it near his mouth in case he needed to amplify his voice. Eraserhead held his scarf in his hands, anticipating any attack. Surprisingly, nobody stopped them from reaching the bottom of the stairs. They observed the walls. They were cobblestoned, and torches let the way through the passage. Shinso cringed at the torches, whispering to Eraser about the fire hazard. Eraserhead had to stifle his laughter.

"Okay, so all rights?"

"All rights."

The two followed each right, trusting the man's revelation through Shinso's brainwash. There were no followers of Lighthand. Occasionally, they passed a white hand that appeared on the walls. The more they travelled, the more hands they saw, to the point that there were so many hands, the walls were white.

"E- Bombay, isn't it kind of a bad idea to just walk through the front door?"

"Nope. Put your scythe behind you."

"I _really_ think that just walking through the front door is a bad idea."

"Ironically enough, villains expect you in the back door."

The two did literally walk through the front door. They heard faint sounds of people muttering and as they got closer and as the torches started to cease, they were lead to a small auditorium. From the back, they could see all the followers, roughly 20 dressed in normal civilian clothes listening to a man in the center, who spoke up from his small platform. As Shinso observed, he recognized the white figure that had been described to him by Eraserhead. A man in white robes and hood wearing a plain white mask. His design was simple, yet it drew the attention of everyone in the room.

"…and the many heroes, such as Vlad King and Eraserhead are welcomed within our precious schools! How could our children be exposed to such evilness?"

The entire crowd cheered. Shinso felt rage build up. _How dare they talk about Eraserhead that way? He helped me in every single way._

Eraserhead noticed the anger and whispered, "I don't care about what they say. You shouldn't either."

Shinso nodded and calmed himself, "What are we going to do?"

"We are going to sneak around backstage and capture him."  
"What about the followers? Won't they feel even more inclined to his beliefs if he is arrested for it?"

Aizawa paused, thinking on the issue, "You may have a point. Let's wait. Think of a plan."

 _The kid really thinks on his feet._

"Never has an evil quirk user been shown to be kind or benevolent to us. They always strive to tear us down, either for our quirkless nature or our good quirks."

Shinso clenched his fists as the crowd agreed.

"They were born evil! This is why I purge the evil within them through my holy light. Their evil vessels cannot handle the goodness I present them."

Shinso gritted his teeth. _Humans are not meant to be exposed to gamma rays, that's why they can't handle them!_

"Cymric, you have to accept these people are criminals."

They are criminals. _They_ supported a monster that killed people. _People I knew._

Shinso shook the thoughts from his head. They had a mission.

"First, it was Aizawa Rin, then Okabe Koto, then Iori Urena," as Lighthand listed the names, the crowd cheered at their demise, sickening Eraserhead and Shinso, "then Rai Keitaro, then Akiya Eru, then Toma Masaaki, then Yoshikuni Aki, then Imai Tsunayoshi, and just recently Nakata Fumiko."

Shinso looked at Eraserhead. Even though they both wore goggles, they could tell what each other were thinking. _They were monsters._

"These evil quirk users hid themselves from us, from society, from _goodness._ If you are so afraid of your quirk that you can't be around us, you don't deserve to have that quirk. And the only way to truly rid of a quirk…"

"IS TO KILL THEM!" roared the crowd.

As the crowd continued the cheer, Shinso whispered an idea to Eraserhead, who whispered back ideas, but nothing seemed to be "right". This was a situation that had no clear solution. If they fought their way to beat Lighthand, every person here was guilty and it could cause the waves of 'evil quirks' ruining society to further. Obviously, killing everyone would do the same, but worse, and was obviously illegal. They couldn't just leave Lighthand because he was killing people. They could try to talk to the people about their beliefs, but they would probably remain stubborn. They had to figure out a way to take down Lighthand without it being known, but they didn't know what to do.

"Our next victim is one that has quickly rang through the news in popularity, especially in the evil quirk community. Can you imagine an evil quirk becoming a hero? Ridiculous."

The crowd booed, but Shinso and Eraserhead remained still.

"What more can we do to show the evil nature of villainous quirks but by showing the world that we do not tolerate the evilness in our schools? Once this death happens, our ideals will spread, and we will save the lives of those who are holy!"

The crowd roared again. Eraserhead grabbed Shinso's shoulder.

"Walk away. Slowly."

Shinso gulped.

"The boy who caused such an uproar that people dropped the world's biggest competition because of guilt! The boy who received praise even after the heinous acts he has done. The boy who caught the attention of many heroes just for his villainous quirk. Shinso Hitoshi!"

A figure appeared behind them and Eraserhead cursed. He turned and went to punch the man, but he was quickly restrained, as was Shinso who turned to fight as well. The two ended up on the stage right next to Lighthand.

"I can't believe it! We have caught Eraserhead and this man right as they were listening in on us!"

The crowd laughed. Shinso blushed. He didn't know what to feel. He was used to being talked about because of his quirk, but now he sees it was honestly nothing. Shinso was a _target_ for simply having his quirk. He was restrained and didn't know what to do. Eraserhead was concentrated on a single point on the ground. He probably already had a plan.

"Purify them! Purify them!" yelled the crowd.

Shinso looked up at the crowd to see many faces. He didn't know any of them, but he could feel the hatred. He had to stand up for himself. He looked at Eraserhead, who had looked at him at the same time.

Shinso stood up and looked Lighthand in the face. He spoke in a way he usually doesn't.

"May I speak, sir?"

The crowd booed, but Lighthand held his hand up to shush them.

"Proceed."

Shinso didn't look at Eraserhead, but straight at Lighthand, who tilted his head to the side.

"What makes a quirk villainous?"

Lighthand looked taken aback and the crowd didn't know what to think. Shinso thanked every event in his life that has happened that caused him to retrieve the voice amplifier that censored Shinso's identity.

"A quirk is villainous when it is bad, obviously. When it can be used to despicable things."

Shinso tilted his head, "I'm not sure I understand. Wouldn't most quirks be villainous then? All Might can change the weather. Changing the weather can cause a tsunami which can kill. Endeavor can burn down a city if he wants. Those two are the top heroes."

Lighthand gave a rather high-pitched laugh, "Oh, silly, I'm talking about _villainous_ quirks, the ones villains have."

A short pause, "What about heroes like Vlad King?" Shinso could feel the tension set in. He wasn't sure if this would work but he had to try.

The crowd booed, causing Lighthand to respond, "You can never be a hero with a villainous quirk."

"So a villainous quirk is one that can harm people, the one a villain can use to manipulate and destroy society?"

The crowd began to cheer as if they had recruited Shinso. He relaxed a bit.

"Of course, young one. You are getting it."

Shinso took a deep breath, "So, are you aware of the hero Aquaris, who could produce water and ended water droughts in many countries around the world?"

The crowd muttered.

"Yes, I do, I'm not sure why that matters."

"What's the difference between Aquaris and a villain that came up a few years later, Tsunam, who produced so much water that a record number of people died from drowning? They both had the same quirk."

The entire room became quiet. Lighthand looked shaken.

The crowd began to mutter. "He has a point." "Those two _did_ have the same quirks." "Are those villainous or heroic quirks?"

Shinso turned to the crowd, "Has everyone here lost someone to somebody whose quirk you think is villainous?"

The entire crowd nodded and yes's ran through the room.

Shinso spoke every word from the bottom of his heart, "The people who killed them were evil. Your true blame is the people who decided to destroy other lives, not a quirk that they didn't choose."

Aizawa, while looking downward and thinking of a plan, smiled at Shinso's words. _A person who can defend his ideals truly believes it._

The crowd didn't know how to respond. Some people agreed with Shinso, while others were apprehensive. It was all for nothing, however, as Lighthhand appeared behind Shinso, and pulled his goggles and hood off. He ripped the purple goggles from his jaw and his identity was revealed.

" _SHINSO HITOSHI! OH HOW THIS IS MUCH EASIER FOR ME! I KNEW THAT ONE OF YOU EVIL QUIRK USERS WOULD COME HERE! YOU EVEN BROUGHT AN EVIL WEAPON WITH YOU!"_

Shinso had the entire crowd boo at him, throw trash, and call him disgusting names he couldn't even repeat they were so terrible. It went on. Lighthand allowed it to happen. Shinso didn't even react when glass had grazed his clothes. He stared in the dark tunnel that he and Eraserhead had originally came through to watch. For some reason, whether it be for the shock of the situation, the fear that he had in him, or just a combination of everything that was going on, he saw Midoriya as he was at the Sports Festival, but smiling brightly, giving Shinso a thumbs-up.

Shinso whispered – almost _whimpering_ \- to himself, "I just wanted to be a hero."

The moment Aizawa heard those words, he _had_ to react. He had a solution in his head and was waiting for the time to use it, but the moment someone decided to spit in his student's face, he couldn't help but become protective. He jumped up and threw his hands out, which he had unfastened while Shinso and Lighthand talked. _Thank goodness the kid got the memo to talk._ His hands had access to extra scarf material that he had packed in his hero suit. He threw it all out in the crowd and impressively captured all the members.

"Funny. You all talk about how 'villainous' quirk users never showed you kindness, but Shinso here never possessed a single person while talking, _even Lighthand himself who made it a point to murder him_. He tried to show you kindness and respect through his words, which were damn beautiful. He tried to save you when he could've easily destroyed all of your lives. You all disgust me. You are truly selfish scum."

Shinso looked up at Eraserhead with kind eyes but reacted quickly when he saw Lighthand had started to reach for Eraserhead's back. He kicked Lighthand in the stomach and watch him fall on the floor. Shinso walked over to his scythe that had been thrown to the side.

"Everyone has to be arrested. Shinso, I can only hold these people. I'm sorry, but I can't fight him. You're not strong enough to hold these people by yourself, so I hate to ask but-"

"Eraserhead, thank you, but this is my fight now. This is between Lighthand and I. Just keep the people under control and call for the police."

It would take 15 minutes for the police to arrive. It was enough time. In fact, it might've been earlier than that since Shinso caught Eraserhead texting while handcuffed from the corner of his eye. Shinso held his scythe towards Lighthand, who had stood up and stared at the young man.

"You are really attacking me with your evil quirk and evil weapon. You are truly low."

"Scythes were originally used for reaping crops. They had helped civilization grow and prosper. It's a tool for growth. But regardless, the true evil is the one standing in front of me, who would murder a 16-year-old boy just for striving to help people."

"Well then, villain, let justice take its course."


	9. Day 8-5 of 10

_"_ _Hitoshi has a quirk?" his mother asked in shock._

 _"_ _Yes, it appears that he is the first in both you and your husband's family to have one."_

 _"_ _I… I guess I'm happy. He was pretty invested in heroes like the other little kids, but I was afraid he was going to be disappointed like us. I'm also glad the reason why he stopped talking is because of the quirk rather than something else. I mean it's not good, but it could definitely be worse," she paused, "why did it take so long for us to find out?"_

 _The psychologist looked over to Shinso and continued speaking, "Hitoshi stopped speaking because he fears his quirk. He thinks he is going to become a villain."_

 _Shinso nodded, still not saying anything. When he appeared in front of the psychologist, he had written down his responses instead of saying them out loud._

 _Shinso's mother slightly gasped and seemed to tear up, "Oh."_

 _"_ _I don't think little Hitoshi is aware of what his quirk is. He can ask someone a question, and then they freeze and he can make them do anything he want. He believes he is hurting them."_

 _His mother winced at the pain her son was going through._

 _"_ _For now, we need to meet more to help the issue. But I do have a few suggestions that could help…"_

 _…_

 _"_ _Hey, Hitoshi! Come here!"_

 _Shinso silently walked down to the living room and saw his mother sitting in front of the TV._

 _"_ _Watch some TV with me!"_

 _Shinso sat next to his mother and wrapped his small arms around her stomach. She played with his hair as they watch hero documentaries. His mother had purposely chosen a low-budget, unknown documentary that was only shown once and that had to be recorded because she knew it would matter so much to him._

 _Shinso watched rare footage of Eraserhead fighting, erasing the quirks of his foes. His eyes lit up as he saw such a dark hero fight with his scarf._

 _"_ _What?! My quirk isn't work- agh!" the villain was kicked over, which caused Shinso to softly giggle._

 _He looked in awe as Eraserhead had defeated all the villains. When it cut to an interview, Shinso straightened up to listen._

 _"_ _You are one of the most effective underground heroes we know of! How do you do it? What do you have to say to those who may not have the All Might-like quirks?"_

 _"_ _I train daily. My quirk to erase other quirks may seem evil to some, but I have saved many lives with it that other heroes simply can't do. The way I see it, every All Might needs someone to protect his shadow."_

 _Shinso smiled and turned to his mother, speaking for the first time, "Can I be good just like him?"_

 _"_ _Yes, you can, Hitoshi."_

 _Shinso smiled. His mother smiled back._

…

Memories of Shinso's mother flashed past his eyes as he and Lighthand faced off. It didn't appear Lighthand had a weapon, but that wasn't going to mean Shinso will back down. All he had to do was buy time. Perhaps speaking and hyping the fight up meant survival.

"Lighthand, isn't it ironic? The hero with a 'villainous' quirk fighting against a villain with a 'heroic' quirk. This sounds like some dumb fanfiction the internet would create after the rise of heroes."

Lighthand roared, "I am a hero purging the world of villainy! Don't speak lies!"

"What's the point of heroes if only those born good can become them?"

"People can't change! They will always be evil and unfair!"

 _"_ _Whenever we go in here, Shinso, no matter what happens, avoiding fighting at all costs. It may be inevitable, but the more fights you can avoid, the better," mentioned Eraserhead before they started their mission._

 _Think! You have to stall for at least 15 minutes max. You need to avoid fighting at all costs._

Lighthand pointed his hands at Shinso and activated his quirk, releasing a blinding flash of light. Shinso knew he was going for the strike so he turned his head and jumped out of the way. When the light faded, Shinso saw Lighthand running towards him, hand outstretched.

 _Shit! He's fast._

Shinso tilted his scythe blade up and rotated it, catching Lighthand's arm in the groove and driving it to the ground. Shinso jumped and punched Lighthand across the face, cracking his mask, hoping it would distract Lighthand from fighting.

"LIGHTHAND!" "DEFEAT THE VILLAIN!" "PURIFY HIM!" "LET GO OF US, ERASERHEAD!"

Shinso lost his patience for a second, "WHAT HAVE I DONE TO BE A VILLAIN?"

He used his scythe to lift Lighthand's mask, not sure what to expect. He was just a normal man, roughly in his 20s, with brown eyes and dark hair. Nothing seemed unique.

"I don't understand. Why are you hiding behind a mask?"

The distraction wasn't successful. Lighthand jumped up and punched Shinso's face, in which Shinso redirected it away. The two continued to exchange punches and occasional kicks, but neither could overpower the other. Lighthand suddenly grabbed Shinso's face through an opening, about to release his quirk, but found that nothing happened. Eraserhead was staring at him with the scariest face that Lighthand had ever seen. Shinso grabbed Lighthand's arm and pushed him away, before activating his scythe's whip form and enclosing Lighthand. Shinso pulled hard, having Lighthand fall to the ground. He made sure he was face down, with his palms facing towards his body.

"I don't understand! Why do villains always win!?"

Shinso softly spoke, "Lighthand, I have no idea who you are or why you are doing this, but I just don't want people to die."

"Unhand me villain!"

Eraserhead spoke up, "Shinso, accept it. You can't convince him. Keep him pinned, we only have to wait 5 minutes at most."

Shinso didn't look away from the villain so he couldn't be caught off guard, "I purposely didn't use my quirk so I could beat you fair and square. I wanted to prove to you and your followers that I respected you and you couldn't even give me the same. Why are you like this?"

"Because I want to be a hero!"

The man turned around and became untangled from the whip, as if it was nothing. He nearly blew a full fledged attack on Shinso, but luckily Eraserhead had erased his quirk. Shinso realized he had no choice. He raised up a fist and yelled.

"RAAAAAAAAGH-"

His fist made contact with Lighthand's cheek.

"-KA!"

Lighthand was slightly disoriented and looked at Shinso, whispering, "What?" probably out of reaction.

Shinso activated his quirk, while flipping Lighthand on his stomach again and pinning him. He thought that if he didn't use it, the followers would be on his side, but he was naïve. His only option is to follow through with a logical ruse. He had no idea if this would work. He had thought about the possibility, but if it doesn't work, then he just had to make sure Lighthand was pinned until the police came.

Shinso concentrated every ounce of his being into one phrase. _TELL THE CROWD WHY YOU ARE WRONG._

Shinso never spoke the words but prayed it would work within his quirk's limitations.

"I…" Lighthand spoke. Shinso kept screaming the words in his head, hoping the command would work.

"I have failed you, my followers."

The crowd muttered softly. Shinso began to sweat and a headache popped up but he stayed concentrated for as long as he could.

"I wanted to be a hero and I saw so many villains with their quirks that I thought by killing people with villainous quirks, we would prevent more villains. Now I realize by killing innocent people, I've become a villain."

The crowd gasped.

"My followers! Learn from my mistakes! I have brainwashed you because you are grieving! The true villain will seek to destroy no matter who he is! And a true hero will save no matter if they look or act evil or not!"

The crowd began to change their minds. They muttered to each other and realized their ways. Shinso couldn't hardly tell, however, since he was so concentrated on getting Lighthand to do what he wanted. He felt the explanation was thorough enough, so he changed his plan.

 _PASS OUT._

Lighthand's eyes began to flutter and eventually closed. Shinso deactivated his quirk. He wanted to fall over and hold his throbbing head. He could barely see.

Aizawa took the opportunity that was given.

"You guys heard it from Lighthand himself. He made a mistake, but it's not too late for you."

He heard a rumble and looked up at the opening. The police were here, finally. The mission was a success.

Shinso looked up as well and saw the police. He had done his job. He let unconsciousness take over, smiling at his first heroic work.


	10. Day 9 of 10

"Hitoshi! Hitoshi! He's waking up."

Shinso began to open his eyes and tried to focus on the voice. He could smell the hospital that he was in and could hear the beeps of a heart monitor.

"Hnnnnnghh?"

"My boy, it's alright. You're safe."

Shinso focused his eyes and he saw his parents. His father, who was wearing civilian clothes instead of his work clothes, and his mother who looked like had been crying.

"Mum… Dad… I didn't mean to end up here."

His dad laughed softly, "It is expected to be happened. You did us quite a scare. Luckily, all you got was a concussion and some bruising."

"A concussion? But I don't remember hitting my head."

"You'll have to let Mr. Eraserhead explain that to you. We just wanted to make sure you were doing okay, kiddo."

His mother spoke next, "My baby, when Fumiko passed, you really didn't have to go all this way and do this. I would've been fine."

 _I don't think she knows I was the next victim._

Shinso softly laughed, "He was a villain. I just did my job."

"Seriously, Hitoshi, you didn't have to do that for me," she softly laughed, "I so wanted to see him brought down, but I didn't realize you would be the one to do it."

He realized that they knew what happened, "Er… what happened on the news? I don't really remember much after the police came."

The two looked at each other before his father spoke, "Eraserhead told us what happened, but was very specific about keeping it under wraps. This was an underground mission. The public doesn't know and none of Lighthand's followers have caused an uproar. The mission, as he said, was successful. He seemed proud of you… and a little annoyed that you got hurt."

Shinso nodded, "He is always annoyed at students who get hurt. I bet he's flaming right now."

His parents lightened a bit with a soft giggle. A doctor came into the room.

"Mr. Shinso, I know your son is in here, but we have a guest he has to speak to."

"We will see you later, Hitoshi. Take care and heal properly."

As his parents left, he saw Eraserhead walk in, nodding towards his parents and wearing a hospital gown with a hand pulling an IV stand.

"Eraserhead, you didn't get hurt? Why are you here?"

The man scoffed, "Turned out Lighthand used UV rays to give my back 2nd degree sunburns. You kicked him off me just before it singed the skin off."

"Oh. You're welcome."

Eraserhead closed the door behind him and sat next to Shinso's bed. He sat up straighter than normal, due to the bandaging and pain in his back.

"First of all, how are you feeling?"

Shinso paused, taking a moment to assess how his body felt currently, "I'm just tired. My head really aches. My dad mentioned I had a concussion, but I never was hit in the head."

"Shinso, I think what happened is that you _mentally_ told Lighthand what to do, which strained you so much that you gave _yourself_ a concussion."

Shinso felt chills go through his body as he remembered, "Oh yeah. I thought it wouldn't work."

"It did. I'm proud you figured that out in the nick of time, but there is also the danger that you gave yourself a damn concussion while doing it. I didn't realize a person can do that."

Shinso shrugged, "I guess use it in emergency situations?"

Eraserhead shook his head, "You'll have to practice it, but stop before a concussion happens. But don't worry about it. You need to heal up."

Shinso paused and asked the teacher, "Eraserhead, why did you take me to Lighthand's hideout? It was dangerous and I know you are so against students going into fights. Why did you drag me there? It's unlike you."

Eraserhead gave his signature smile, "It was a logical ruse. I had planned out everything that was going to happen. We were never in a bad position. Besides, with a touch of a button, I could call backup, even if my phone was taken away from me. Lighthand never had the chance to hurt you. A few times in the battle, I deactivated his quirk just so you weren't injured that much. The only things that didn't go to plan were my back and you giving yourself a concussion."

"Wait… did you know I was his next victim?"

"No, but you were in the top 10 in guesses. Regardless, I knew we would get captured. Never go in the front door, Shinso. That's what I wanted to show you."

"O-okay."

"It's a good thing Lighthand is an idiot. He never not answered your questions."

Shinso paused, "So, I guess I'm an idiot too for not taking advantage of that."

Eraserhead sighed, "Yes and no. It would've been faster to take him down, but you wouldn't have gotten the opportunity to disrupt his followers."

Shinso didn't say anything.

"After we gathered the followers up, none of them believed in Lighthand anymore. Not only did you stop the villain, you stopped his ideals, which is rare. In that case, you should be very proud."

Shinso took a deep breath, "I am, but I feel bad for worrying my parents."

"They are fine. Enjoy your victory for today," he paused, "When you are released, feel free to celebrate. No training today, obviously."

Shinso became wide eyed, "Um, yeah sure," he paused before reluctantly asking, "Want to get ice cream?"

"I'm more of a milkshake person, but we can do that."

Shinso nodded and then remembered to ask, "Don't you have someone who is worried about you?"

Eraserhead paused and then gasped, "Joke."

…

Ms. Joke had just gotten out of bed and made a cup of coffee when she received a phone call from Eraserhead. She nearly dropped her cup as she brought the phone to her ears.

"This is Ms. Joke, do you need my help?"

"Relax. We are in the hospital. The mission was successful."

She furrowed her brow, "You got hurt again."

"Not as bad as in the past. I was letting you know I was alright, as I promised."

Ms. Joke blushed, "Ooo, getting soft again, aren't you? I didn't have to save you like you're some damsel in distress this time."

"Quit your blubbering." There was some noise in the background, a laughter, and then Eraserhead spoke again, "Make a joke like that again and you'll be hearing less from a potential fiancé in the future. Goodbye, Emi. Love you."

Ms. Joke got extremely red in the face.

"WHAT? ERASERHEAD, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY? HEY, SHOTA! IS THIS SOME TYPE OF JOKE? DO YOU ACTUALLY WANT TO GET MARRIED? OH MY GOD!"

…

Shinso released his quirk with the biggest smile on his face.

"You're welcome."

Eraserhead appeared as a dark shadow over Shinso.

"You do realize she will never let this go. You have become the death of me."

Shinso mischievously spoke, "You would have never done that without my help."

"She's an annoying damsel who won't stop bugging me, and now you have lit the fires to my own personal hell."

"Hahahah! Admit it, Eraser, you like her!"

…

"Okay, kiddo. You owe me after your little joke."

"Alright, I'll take The Cat."

Shinso lifted up The Cat and placed it on his lap, petting its head until it fell asleep, purring. The two were sitting in Eraserhead's office and drinking milkshakes they had picked up from a local ice cream shop. Eraserhead wasn't one to celebrate like this, but he could tell Shinso enjoyed just relaxing and talking to him.

"So if we shouldn't have gone through the backdoor, where could we have possibly have went?"

"I knew of a few entrances we could have gone into, but again, had to teach you rule number 1: never go in the front door."

"That's how those guards found us."

"Exactly."

They talked for what seemed like hours about their mission and how it could've gone better, even after they had finished their milkshakes. The Cat slept through all of it, purring with each breath.


	11. Day 10 of 10

Shinso appeared in front of Eraserhead's office once more. Tomorrow, school was back in session. It seemed hard to believe that the break was over.

He knocked, "Hey, Eraser."

"Come in."

Shinso walked in and sat in the chair. He had recovered from his concussion and the battle that had happened only a few days ago.

"Just so you know, I explained to Ms. Joke what had happened after she decided to call me a million times this morning. You may have accidentally gotten a contact through her. If you ever want an internship, check with her first."

Shinso shrugged, "It was a logical ruse."

"Picked up my tricks, haven't you? Well as you know, tomorrow is school. Our training is over."

Shinso hesitated. The week seemed so long and hellish, but he really enjoyed Eraserhead's company and his advice. He didn't want to end the time he had spent with him.

"Our training is really over? That doesn't seem like it's enough for me to become a good hero or to transfer to Class 1-A."

"I talked to the school board about it. They are stubborn, especially with the events that has happened with Stain."

Shinso tilted his head, "What happened?" He went back home after the celebration yesterday and immediately went to sleep.

Eraserhead couldn't tell Shinso everything, "Some of my students were caught up with Stain, who is being talked about by the faculty instead of the League of Villains. Noone is talking about what you did. It was frustrating, but inevitable."

Shinso looked down. He felt like he had failed.

"Don't be too down. Your time for transferal will come, we just have to be patient and work hard. You still need help but you have school coming up, which is why I'm going to offer a substitute."

Shinso looked up at him.

"We aren't able to have training sessions that lasts for hours, but if you want, we can train together an hour before and after school, but this is only if you work on your body on your own time as well. You need to become more physically fit and honestly, I have my own class to attend to and you have your own studies. Does that seem like a fair tradeoff?"

Shinso nodded, "Of course, sir! I'd be honored to."

"And as always, it's best to keep this under wraps. My students are very perceptive, so avoid contact with them. You'll get your chance to be their classmates one day."

"Of course."

"So, let's begin by talking what you can improve on. We already discussed about the mission yesterday, but let's get really in-depth."

The Cat jumped up on Shinso's lap. Shinso began to pet it, listening to its purrs and feeling it breathe softly as he and Eraserhead talked about what the future entails.

…

Welp, that's the wrap. Thank you so much for being on this journey so far! I hope you enjoyed it and I hope I captured the essence of Eraserhead and Shinso. I tried to keep it as close to canon as possible and I think I did pretty well.

Thank you!


End file.
